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Leadership and the Science of Reading: An Honest Look at the Joys and Challenges of School Transformation

Categories: Audiobook Library, Curriculum & Access, Early Literacy, Education & Teaching, Educators, General, Reading Strategies for K-12, Student Centric Learning, Teacher Best Practices, The Digital Age

The C's of Literacy Leadership Transformation

When you think about 60% of our nation's children struggling to read, what comes to mind? Early childhood literacy? The Science of Reading? Professional development? School leadership? The need for transformational change? 

Dr. Terrie Noland recently hosted a panel with education thought leaders to share their thoughts about transformation, literacy, and leadership and what they have learned through research and implementation. 

You can listen to this edwebinar on-demand to learn about the eight Cs of literacy leadership, and how to make transformational change "stick" in your classroom, school and district. 

  • Clear vision

  • Cogs of systems and structures 

  • Community

  • Collaboration

  • Coherence

  • Capacity 

  • Consistency 

  • Courage

Attributes of a Transformational Leader  

Literacy leaders share a common vision. They unite their teams, possess great passion and are patient. They recognize the need for ongoing professional development in the Science of Reading. They put effective systems and structures in place to inform the mission. They don't shy away from data or make excuses. These leaders are reliable, vulnerable, honest, benevolent, kind, and transparent. They understand complexity and equity; are willing to pitch, punt, pull and push at the right times. They recognize what curriculum and routines should stay and what should go. They tap into emotions, compensate, celebrate, guide, and promote collective advocacy. They make shifts in their thinking from "teachers" to "instructional leaders," and make long-term, sustainable investments in literacy. What system will you tackle first?

  •  The critical need to understand the Science of Reading. 
  • Coherency in teaching literacy at all levels.

  • Getting the fundamentals of reading right.

  • Aligning the curriculum at all grade levels.

  • Using data to drive the mission.

  • Optimizing scheduling to work for teachers and students.

  • Ensuring evaluations and assessments are effective. 

  • Putting interventions for Tier II and Tier III in place. 

  • Making the PLN transferable for others.

Join the Movement

Change won’t happen overnight. It takes a village, a vision, commitment, time, and leadership, but the rewards are great! Transformational change happens when strong leaders and teams are "on the hook" for all students to be successful. They drive momentum, build capacity, continue dialogue, and influence practices. They establish new routines and scheduling, and carry forward the vision and plan. They stay for the hard stuff. They connect the dots and know over time the ripple effect is evident -- reading success -- reading at grade-level -- reading enjoyment -- reading independently -- reading for life. 

 

"We fail to the level of our systems,"
James Clear, Author of "Atomic Habits"

 


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